Felgate said "No" without the "sir," and swaggered back to his place with an ostentatious indifference which did not go unnoted.

The baronet, who was nothing if not original, said nothing, but shook his head.
"Reply to the question, sir!" thundered the doctor, ominously.
Whereat Sir Digby, losing his head, said, "No, thank you, sir," and retired, amid some confusion.
Simson, when interrogated, mildly added to his "No, sir" the explanatory sentence, "except finding him there when I went for my boots"; and Munger, the cad, added to his answer, "but I'll try to find out," with a leer and an oily smile, which Ainger felt strongly tempted to acknowledge by a kick as he passed back to his place.

Stafford, painfully aware that he was one of the "mentioned" ones, looked horribly confused and red as he answered to his name, and satisfied several of the inexpert ones present that it was hardly necessary to look further for one of the culprits.
So the call-over passed, and when once more Ainger handed in the list Railsford seemed further than ever from seeing light through the cloud which enveloped it.

The doctor's brow darkened as he took once more his glass from his eye.
"This is very serious," said he, slowly.

"When I came here it was with the painful feeling that the house contained boys so cowardly and unprincipled as to waylay a defenceless man in the dark, and to treat him as Mr Bickers has been treated.